Mary Berry’s Devonshire Apple Cake

I’m making good use of the cook book as we have another Mary Berry Baking Bible cake on my hands. This is a traybake and fairly easy to make. I’ve not added the caster sugar on top of the cake as I used dessert apples which add sweetness. The cake really does take a while to cook, so trust the recipe (which can also be found on at BBC Good Food). Best served warm with a good lashing of cream or some other indulgent dressing.

Ingredients

450g/1lb cooking apples

Juice of ½ lemon

350g/12oz self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

350g/12oz caster sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp almond essence

225g/8oz butter, melted

Flaked almonds

Method

Peel, core and thinly slice the apples and squeeze the lemon juice over them.

Measure the flour, baking powder and sugar into a large bowl . Beat the eggs together with the almond essence and mix into the flour with the melted butter. Mix well then spread half this mixture into the tin.

Arrange the apples over the top of the cake mixture. Carefully top with the rest of the mixture; don’t worry if the apples show through. Sprinkle almonds on top.

Bake in preheated oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the cake is golden, firm to the touch and slightly shrunk away from the sides of the tin. Leave to cool for 15 minutes and then turn out and remove the paper.